From pools to 311 calls: Austin’s data portal has inaccuracies, audit finds

KXAN
by: Grace Reader
Posted: Jul 26, 2023 / 05:54 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 26, 2023 / 09:07 PM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new report published by the Office of the City Auditor found data provided to the public through Austin’s open data portal can be inaccurate, sometimes by hundreds of thousands of records. It pointed to a lack of coordinated oversight and training.

The datasets analyzed range from the city map showing which pools are open to information about fatal crashes and 311 calls. The data is intended to keep the public informed, but the city auditor’s office said it also informs policy for city departments.

“At its base level we’re looking at our data and trying to determine whether or not what we’re collecting and presenting is going to be important and going to be useful for the community,” said Keith Salas, an assistant city auditor.

“In the coming months, discussions will take place regarding new training methods and appointing a department to oversee the data portal,” Interim City Manager Jesús Garza responded. “We are committed to making sure that the Open Data Portal receives the attention it needs to correct the issues found in the audit and to better serve our community.”

The report also noted that the issue has been long-standing for the city.

Data on the portal doesn’t match department data, report found

The report found data sets on the public-facing portal often didn’t match internal city department data. The auditor’s office said it looked at 11 data sets that are most viewed on the website and found six of those did not match department data.

“In a few cases, staff told us data was excluded from the portal for reasons like proprietary information, privacy concerns, or evolving reporting practices…even accounting for those exclusions, the data does not match,” the report said.

Those data sets were: Austin 311 data, Austin Animal Center outcomes, issued construction permits data, food establishment inspection scores, the map that shows which Austin pools are open and real-time traffic incident reports.

Of those, some differences were minor. The report noted when it sampled food inspection score data there were only slight differences. For example, a restaurant got a score of 86 in the department data but an 88 in the portal. Additionally, the Austin Animal Center’s outcomes data was only missing two animals of nearly 150,000.

But other data varied more substantially and “could have larger policy implications.”

The report showed 311 data and real-time traffic incident reports were being presented to the public as both “substantially” lower than data from the department.

“The 311 dataset appears to be missing hundreds of thousands of mobile, web, and phone service requests, limiting the public’s ability to understand the types of requests and how requests are made through 311,” the report said.

The traffic incident reports data is also missing thousands of records, according to the report, including fatal crashes.

“Someone using the portal data would see 85 fatal crashes between September 2017 and November 2022 when someone using the Public Safety Data Warehouse would see 149. However, Transportation and Public Works staff said they do not rely on either dataset for engineering or project development,” the auditor’s office wrote.

Other findings

The report also found:

• Some datasets are outdated or may be “of low interest to the community,” some being viewed by only one person
• Datasets are not formatted all the same and can be hard to read
• Data on the portal is not overseen by one department or person. The City of Austin does not have a chief data officer, which is typical of other cities, the report said
• Data is not a focus for departments and some management of data slips through the cracks

KXAN has reached out to the City of Austin to ask about changes the city plans to make. This article will be updated when we hear back.

Recommendations from the auditor’s office

The auditor’s office recommended the city manager “articulate a clear goal for open data and data practices more generally,” which includes removing outdated data and finding which datasets are of most interest and making them more easily read.

It also recommended establishing “centralized oversight.”

City management agreed with those recommendations, according to the report. It was decided for now that the open data portal would fall under the Communications and Technology Management Department, but staff were meeting Friday to hash out further details, staff told some city council members during a presentation Wednesday.

“We know that data is a way for us to share stories about the work that we’re doing and I think it’s important for the public to be able to understand what we have available, that it’s correct, accurate, and it’s in a user friendly fashion,” Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said.

Council members in the audit and finance committee asked staff bring back details as they determine next steps.